Discussion
Someone1234: I just want to link this teardown; it is a suitable companion to this article:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k7Lv7f-5CQOn a rational level it isn't surprising that the "compute" part is so small, given its origins, but for some reason it still caught me by surprised seeing something barely larger than a Raspberry Pi.But, yeah, this thing is crazy modular. I particularly want to call out how trivial it is to replace the ports, given how common of a failure point they are. With the keyboard/monitor being more involved, but absolutely still approachable.I believe he finds just a single piece of light adhesive keeping a cable in place, everything else (inc. the battery) is screws only.
entropicdrifter: I feel like "most repairable macbook" is a bit like saying "most edible dirt". While it's good that there's progress, it's pretty telling that they need to only compare it within the same company's products.
0_____0: I've replaced a battery, screen, hinges on a macbook (2015). Did they get considerably worse at repairability after that? Because while there were a fair number of steps, it's not like they required exotic techniques to pull off.
shrubble: Yes they did. Reminder: your experience is 11 years ago and several Intel and ARM generations old. Also it’s more than $3 Trillion in revenue ago.
ceejayoz: They’ve gotten largely more repairable since then, including adhesives you can electrically debond.
needSomeCoffee: Wow. Beautiful engineering. Please, please Apple use this ethos for all future major laptop designs.
drooopy: This is probably going to be my new laptop next year if it gets the A19 Pro with 12 GB of RAM.
etchalon: I'd bet these things are going to be on a two-year upgrade cycle, instead of yearly. Will be super happy to be proven wrong.
ggreer: It looks like it's still bigger than the logic board on the 12" MacBook from 2015.[1]I really wish Apple would resurrect that form factor, as every other MacBook since has seemed bulky in comparison. Thanks to OpenCore Legacy Patcher[2], I still haven't gotten a newer mac.1. See step 11 on https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Retina+MacBook+2015+Teardown...2. https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher
newsclues: I'm not sure if it's possible, but an aftermarket battery with closer to the MB Airs KW/h specs would be a very interesting modification.The repairability seems to be interesting especially if it leads to framework style upgradability (logic boards, not the ports).
oybng: Just 20 steps and 18 screws to replace a battery, easy!
SoKamil: But no adhesive under the battery. That’s huge.
the_biot: ...electrically debond, are you serious? More details please, this sound very interesting.
malmeloo: That's a relatively recent development. Repairability has been very poor for quite a while, but now they're finally starting to improve the situation somewhat.
crooked-v: As it turns out, once battery life hits a certain baseline, people prefer devices where the battery is harder to replace but larger over devices where the battery is hot-swappable but smaller.
lallysingh: Yeah, I mean I'm looking at frameworks/thinkpads on one side and chromebooks on the other. Not charging up to $440 (!) for a keyboard isn't a great act of engineering or generosity. This has been ridiculous for a very, very long time. Being less ridiculous isn't worth celebrating. The goal markers have moved so damned much.Compare to a thinkpad keyboard FRU. They have fluid drains and still cost $99 for a top-end laptop. My daughter's chromebook keyboard replacement at school was $16.
cwoolfe: Repairability and cost are key for the education market. Apple sold iPads into this space for awhile but there's been pushback and talk of going to chromebooks. Seems like they are positioning Neo for this segment as well.
05: Video (use SponsorBlock): https://youtu.be/M6jBXI6CR9s?t=156Article: https://www.ifixit.com/News/100352/we-hot-wired-the-iphone-1...Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41623251
Clamchop: I mean, yes, it is easy. No adhesive and just a couple of clips on the case. You could replace the battery in 20 minutes with little anxiety that you're going to cause damage getting to it.
Someone1234: I'd suggest you watch a teardown video. The Neo is absurdly repairable compared to just about anything in its category. It is extremely modular, and uses screws.
edhelas: Wow screws. Crazy. So the industry standard for many years. But I guess it's Different™ this time.
edhelas: So basically they are trying to reach what Lenovo and others are doing for years.Nice Apple. That's good :)
ProllyInfamous: Repairability examples:modular USB ports; battery sans glue; trackpadTwenty years ago, I worked part-time in a laptop repair facility for a large educational institution; this computer would have been a godsend (e.g. the first MacBooks had hundreds of screws, plastic everywhere).
pfortuny: FYI: KWh (it is a product).
46493168: What version of MacOS are you running on yours? I have a 2017, 16GB, 1.7ghz and it's DOG slow on Ventura, even with reduce motion and reduce transparency. I have considered downgrading just to see if there's improvement.
ggreer: I'm on Sequoia (v15.7.4). I have the original 2015 model (1.1Ghz Core M-5Y31, 8GB of RAM). It's a little slow, but fine for what I use it for (web browser, syncing music/photos to/from my phone, simple coding tasks). My main gripe is the battery only has 60% of its original capacity. Apple won't replace the battery, and doing it yourself is pretty tricky. At some point it'll break or no longer get security updates, and then I'll probably get a MacBook Air.If you're using OpenCore Patcher, it's important to install the root patches to enable graphics acceleration. Otherwise it'll be ridiculously slow.
charcircuit: The MacBook Neo has a rechargeable battery. By the time the battery goes bad from too many charge cycles people will want to upgrade to a newer one.
